Woke up this morning to a complete overcast sky. Hardly ever happens. And clouds always seem to put me in a baking mood. So after a quick spin to the beach with the pooch, a cooked breakfast, a load of laundry and a few more bits and pieces, I started thinking about baking. It was 9:15 am.

I had visions of making something super elaborate. Like I'm talking Bake Off elaborate. Who am I kidding. Anyway, elaborate for me at least. I wanted to make a lemon tart of sorts. So first task was looking through the cupboard to find tart tins. That didn't go well and soon frustration set in. Must remind myself to deep clean my kitchen. Fun!

After about 10 frustrating minutes, I found a tin that would do the job. Great. Then I just couldn't seem to come up with an idea for the base. I was thinking shortcrust pastry. Again, too much work for this morning. Then I spied some cinnamon biscuits. I had visions of them working wonderful for a base if I crushed them up and added melted butter. Again, I just couldn't seem to concentrate long enough to get one solid idea down.

In the end, I had pretty much hauled all the baking ingredients know to man onto my kitchen island and it was utter chaos. I need a serous spring clean. I just said that, which means I know it's gotta be done.

So, I started looking at the ingredients one by one waiting for a magic moment of creative inspiration. I'm still waiting. Then I pretty much realised it wasn't my morning for baking and was slowly and reluctantly putting the ingredients back one by one. Then I noticed the the pretty little cupcake papers out of the corner of my eye.

Ummm, cupcakes, why not!

I had lemons because there's a loaded tree in the garden. Plus some limes kicking around from tacos I made yesterday. There was enough butter, sugar and eggs to pull some citrus cupcakes together. I basically just used my regular vanilla cupcake recipe and jazzed it up with some zest. It worked and I've already eaten two. It's only 5:00 pm. Tomorrow I'm walking further.

And what's more unusual than anything today, is that I'm getting a recipe finished the day I made it. I still have recipes waiting in the wings since January. Talk about procrastination at it's finest. That's me. I will get to those recipes, just not today. Tomorrow?

So for now, I got these cupcakes for you all and they were pretty tasty. A bit zesty but not too much. just a hint without being overpowering. Plus although I say it myself, they're not too bad on the eyes either. If you looking for a pretty easy cupcake for any occasion this spring, keep these in mind.

They might not be a tart but they're a pretty darn good cupcake.

Notes about the cupcakes:

The cupcakes themselves are so easy to make. Very basic with no unusual or fussy ingredients. There isn't really too much to say about the baking as they are pretty straightforward. I would say don't over bake them though. Otherwise, they will turn out dry. So about 5 minutes before the time, check them with a toothpick. If it's clean, get them out. Remember all ovens are different so baking time varies from oven to oven!

I put a little zest in the icing as well, but this is completely optional. It gives a little extra zesty flavour. If you are putting zest in the frosting and planning to pipe, make sure you use a large piping attachment. Otherwise the zest may block the hole.

I topped mine with small lime pieces and topped them with a little extra zest for prettiness. Optional!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease 12 muffins tins. Set aside.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time and then vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and zest. Stir to combine.

Add about 1/2 of the flour to the batter and stir to incorporate. Then add the milk along with the juice of the lemon and lime and stir. Then add remaining flour and stir until incorporated.

Fill the muffin tins.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and leave to cool on a wire rack

Make the frosting in the bowl of your electric mixer. Add the butter and beat until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla and then slowly start sifting in the icing sugar and whisking until you have reached the desired consistency. Add the milk and whisk. Fold in the zest.

You can pipe the frosting on the cupcakes or spread it on with a butter knife.

Best served the day they are made but will keep up to two days in an airtight container.